“School Segregation in the Land of Lincoln”

Deirdre Mayer Dougherty

Using abolition as a framework, this talk will explore the presence of Abraham Lincoln in lore and memory and contextualize school desegregation in Galesburg in Illinois. The talk provides a history of schooling in Illinois including Illinois' experience with school segregation and uses primary sources to illustrate the lives of Galesburg residents who attended segregated schools. It ends with a call to reexamine current municipal policy and to recognize the roots of anti-black racism even in the Land of Lincoln.